Report: Iran Detains Leading Female Reformist

September 23, 2009 15:12 GMT

Azar Mansuri in an undated photograph

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Report: Iran Detains Leading Female Reformist

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TEHRAN (Reuters) -- A senior female member of Iran's leading reformist party has been detained, a pro-reform website has reported, signaling further pressure on the opposition after the Islamic republic's disputed June election.

Azar Mansuri, deputy head of the Mosharekat party, was detained on September 15 by intelligence agents in the town of Varamin southeast of Tehran while on her way home, the Norooz website said.

Mosharekat leader Mohsen Mirdamadi and other key party members were detained in the days after the June 12 presidential election, which plunged Iran into a deep internal crisis.

Mirdamadi and other Mosharekat officials were also among more than 100 reformers, activists, and others who were put in the dock in a series of mass trials that began last month on charges of orchestrating opposition protests after the election.

Norooz listed the names of 20 Mosharekat members detained since the poll, which the opposition says was rigged to secure hard-line President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's reelection. The authorities deny charges of vote fraud.

Another reformist website, Mowjcamp, said agents had searched Mansuri's home and confiscated personal belongings, a computer, and a mobile phone.

There was no immediate comment from the authorities.

Rights groups say thousands of people were detained after the election, though most of them have since been freed. Less than 200 remain in prison, officials say.

The authorities have portrayed the huge opposition protests after the election as a foreign-backed bid to undermine the Islamic republic's clerical leadership.